Separation of ores



- \A. A. LOCKWOOD.

SEPARATION OF ORE S.

APPLICATION FILED. NOV-Z4. 1917.

HIIIHHIHIHHHHIUI v mm fizfa ,7. L 00/91/00 Patentd Jan. 27,1920.

ALFRED ARTHUR LOOKWOOD, OF MERTON PARK, ENGLAND.

SEPARATION OF ORES.

Application filed November 24, 1917. Serial No. 203,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED ARTHUR Looxwoon, a-subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Merton Park,

county of Surrey, England, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Separation of Ores, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object certain improvements in and relating to the separation of sulfid, oxid, carbonate and other ores, as hereinafter described. and pointed out in the appended claims.

Certain forms of apparatus may be utilized in the performance of the present process, and by way of illustration reference may be had to the accompanying drawing,

shakin which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ing table of the Wilfiey type.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing .how the ores suspended in water may be conducted through or between cathode or the shaking table.

.Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showing anode surfaces before being deposited on the riflles of the table shown in Fig. l coated with lead or other suitable material.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the rifiies made entirely of lead or other I suitable material.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

It will of course'be understood that the details of the apparatus shown in the drawngs are simply for the purposes of illus tration and the carrying out of my process is not limited to the rangement shown. 1 I

In carrying out the. invention, ores whose metalliferous particles are capable of conduc precise details and arducting electricity, are passed either through,

over, or between cathode and anode surfaces arranged in close proximity to one another in such manner that said metalhferous par:

' ticles themselves become temporary cathodes and anodes or vice versa. This causes the deposition of hydrogen or oxygen or bothupon such temporary cathodes and .anqdes, or vice versa, rendering them buoyant and easily separable by flotation and gravitation methods.

In the event of the metalliferous particles being bad or insufficient conductors for gas deposition, for instance, say, when oxidized particles or carbonates of the metal are being heated, said metalli'ferous particles are subjected to a preliminary treatment, consisting of agitation in water with a nonmiscible substance, such as oil, or the like previously mixed with a finely ground read- 1ly conducting material, such as ground graphite, copper pyrites, or galena, with the result that gas emanations will be evolved upon the coated surface as readily as though the whole particle were'ofa con ducting material.

To facilitate the conductivity of the water and to economize the electric power necessary for carrying out the process, a small percentage of a, salt of an acid or of an alkali nature may be added-as is usual in such cases.

A salient feature characteristic of my invention is that the process is conducted in conjunction with. the gravity method using a shaking table of the Wilfiey type, but with riflles of a conducting material instead of the ordinary wooden riflies, said conducting riflies being connected up alternately as positive and negative and charged with direct current, so that the lighter metalliferous particles as they travel over said riflies become alternately buoyed with cathode and anode gases. e

By reference to the accompanying drawings'it will be observed that a form of apparatus for carrying out the foregoing steps is shown. .Fi 1. shows a table T mounted upon a plurality of flexible struts or legs (I, and having connected therewith a rod or shaft cwhich is provided at one endwith means for being eccentrically mounted as at e on a shaft f, to which power may be applied by the pulley g or the like. The top surface of this table is provided with a plurality of riifles or. ridges 1' which may be eitherwood riflies coated with lead or other suitable material as'shown in Fig. 3, or solid lead or like material as shown in Fig. 4. In each case, h0wever,-the adjacent rlfiles are .charged with a positive and negative curgassed mineral particles being caught, as

usual, while the buoyed and gassed mineral Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 27, 1920. I

' particles flow ofi at the slime endand become entrapped by the usual baflies, the slime being allowed to escape.

It is obvious that the electrification may be performed separately, or on a deck on the gravity table and provided with electrlfied rifiies as .above*set forth, or two horizontal plates a'"and b of conductive material as shown in Fig. 2, close to and above one work, more or less, under light pressure, enhancing their tendency to attach themwother as well as from the gangue.

selves to the metalliferous particles.

In the event of a plurality of minerals in an ore, these are separated from one an- F or instance, with an ore containing blende, galena, and Cu pyrites of different electric susceptibilities, it is found that by suitably manipulating the strength of the electric current, galena and Cu pyrites are-extracted together by, flotation and the blende from the igangue by gravitation all in one combined operation,.and by a separate gravity treatment to separate the Cu pyrites from the 'galena.

When, however, the metalliferous particles. are of equal electric conductivity or non-conductivity (as in the case of oxydized ores) a coating, by agitating the ore with electrolytic conducting material such as f ground graphite, etc., as previously de- .scribed, and an oily liquid has to be resorted to for the selection of the desired mineral, when they are then passed over the electrified gravity table as hereinbefore described.

In connnection with the feature of the invention which provides for preparing the an oily liquid. it will be understood that any suitable oily liquid may be used such as petroleum residuum or fatty acids, and

, while. it is true that these oils are highly non-conductive, nevertheless, when they are charged to the consistency of paint with finely ground particles of conducting material, above set forth, and caused to be ap-' plied" to the particles of ore in a thin film, they readily 'conduct even weak currents owing to the fact that the finely ground par-' .ticles contact with each other and form in conducting substance so as to' cause the surber, 1917.

face portions or exterior of the extractable mineral particles to be coated by the electrolytic conducting material.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A process for separating ore tailings, concentrates and the-like consisting in flowing a sheet of pulp containing material to be separated over a supporting surface, agitating and baffling the pulp during its passa-ge over said surface and passing electric currents through the pulp between bafiling elements and thereby evolving gas which adheres to and buoys certain of the components of the pulp relatively to other components, and collecting the components so buoyed.

2. A process for separating ores which consists in passing finely ground particles of the ore with water into the zone of action of the opposite poles of an electric circuit and simultaneously agitating said water containing the ore together with a nonmiscible substance containing a conducting material, whereby the finer particles of ore floating near the top of the water will first be coated with a gaseous envelop by the electric action and be rendered buoyant, while the heavier and poorly conducting parts of the ores which fall by gravity will be coated with the non-miscible conductorbearing substance, whereby they willvalsoultimately be surrounded by a gaseous envelop and become buoyant. i

3 A process for separating'ores which consists in adding to the ore in the presence of water an electric conducting substance and an adhesive non-miscible conductorcarrying substance such as an oily liquid, then agitating the whole and subjecting the same to the action of closelytadjusted opposite poles of an electriccircuit, whereby the electrolytic actionthus produced will cause the ore particles to be surrounded by a gaseous envelop and rendered buoyant.

4:. A process for separating. ores which consists n separating the mineral particles from the gangue by passing the same with waterinto the zone of action of opposite poles of an electrical circuit and simultaneously agitating the water and a non-miscible conductor bearing substance which adheres to some of. the ore particles in prefer-' ence to other particles, whereby the metalliferous particles of ore will be enveloped by a gaseous coating due to the electrolytic action and be rendered buoyant. In testimony whereof I have affixed by signature hereto this sixth day of Novem- ALFRED ARTHUR LOGKWOOD. 

